Just reading the list of #Hugo Awards finalists for 2019, but am so out of touch with today’s #scifi that I don’t recognize any of them. I think I’m more in tune with the nominees for the 1944 Retro Hugos. 🙁 https://t.co/ApLxefZCVQ

Just saw that N.K. Jemisin won the Hugo for best novel again. Book one of the trilogy won last year and book two this year. Will book three win next year? Should the award be only given out to standalone books and series be only eligible for the new best series award?https://t.co/x4uzz047wR

I couldn’t say as I’m not familiar with the author or the series so am no judge of its quality. Given the shenanigans in recent years over the voting process, it’s hard to know.

Speaking of Lois, she was able to win the first “best series” award this year which will be a permanent award moving forward. The rule is the series must have a minimum of 3 books and one of them must have been published in the previous year.

I’m wondering if this is due to the second novel really being “up there” in terms of quality or a fandom large following for the series as could be argued for Lois McMaster Bujold’s Hugo run for the Vorkosigan series way back in the day. Not that they were bad, but “the best”?

I’ve been told that there were changes for the voting rules that were proposed at the last Worldcon, but it takes to consecutive Worldcon sessions to ratify those changes. Not sure what rules changes they requested but I am curious. Trying to get Can-con to hold a panel discussing this but there is some reluctance to discuss, fearing it may turn ugly/political.

Ah yes. The Sad Puppies and Rabid puppies are at it again. I think this battle will be around for a while. Sadly, for some authors, getting ‘blessed” by one of these groups puts them between a rock and a hard place when they don’t even agree with the movements backing them. One has already asked to be left off the ballot again this year.

I just read this article (April 26, 2015). Personally, I think that personal politics shouldn’t mix with the fiction. That was why the last L. Ron Hubbard series was so bad (I won’t go on my Scientology rant…) Politics and cliques should not matter for the Hugo; good writing should.

Fascinating read. Their has always been a ‘clique’ factor and ‘who’s got the most fans willing to poney a nomination and/or vote’ factor to these awards. Not siding with either, I don’t see anything wrong going on here other than a few people rocking the craddle. I lost a lot of interest when pure fantasy (Harry Potter) started being nominated and winning. A lot of great novels have won, and I’ll always be curious regarding winners and nominees, but that about it. I have long set aside my pocket ‘Hugo’ list and trying to read all those books. I like the fact that this controversy may lead to lesser acclaimed (but perhaps just as deserving) writers will be read. The long term effect… we’ll just have to wait and see.

I didn't realize that Ancillary Justice is the first science fiction book to win the Hugo, Nebula and Clarke in the same year. I’m just glad the Wheel of Time series didn’t win the Hugo. http://t.co/jZ3IIsbj7v

1) “Assess” not “Access”. 😉
2) Let me know on you’ve read it.
I know that it’s what publishers (and probably authors as well) want and are demanding these days. I just don’t like it.
P.S.: Betcha the law of diminishing returns applies as the series moves along. Can you name a planned trilogy which got better from one book to the next? Most start strong and then start fading.

It’s the reality of the book-publishing industry. Authors are expected to have books that can spin into multi-volume series if the first book is successful. It’s a lot easier to sell something with which people are already familiar. How many first books of new writers would you be willing to buy? Probably not very many because we are drawn to familiar names and series because we think it will lessen our disappointment.

I will probably get around to reading this one since it has won so many awards, but I sometimes wonder if that is herd mentality. I guess I will have to read it to find out for myself if it lives up to the hype!

The coveted Triple Crown of SF. But I hate the fact that this is only the first installment of a trilogy. Can’t anyone just write a novel anymore? I hate being tied into a series when we don’t even know if the followups will be any good. Been burned before and I won’t even consider reading this one until I can access the whole series. By then I’ll probably even have forgotten about this. Unless the rest of the books get as much acclaim.

The Harry Potter win (and I believe there were other HP books nominated in other years but did not win) has always really bothered me. While I agree that some works straddle the SF/Fantasy fence, these are clearly Fantasy and should have only been considered for such awards.

I think the real problem is that when you look at it closely there are only a few thousand fans that actively participate in the nomination and final voting process that you can’t get away from these questionable works getting into the mix.

That is quite a feat regardless if she is the ‘real deal’ (Future grand master?) or just on some writing streak. I hate to bring it up but with the open submission process there is always the possibility that there was some orchestrated and organized effort by her fans. But I’m pretty sure we are all already aware of the pitfalls and vagaries of Hugo voting.

I’m more concerned about the Captain’s other post regarding this year’s lineup for best novel. I agree with everything he has to say notwithstanding the personal assessments as I have not read any (as usual). I was hoping that Scalzi’s novel fared better in his eyes, but even I consider Scalzi hit or miss. Oh well.

As for my CBIP: “Different Seasons” by Stephen King. Four novellas, including “The Body” (filmed as “Stand By Me”), “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” (need I say more), and “Apt Pupil” which was another one made into a movie that even I did not know about. I’m a bit late coming to the game, but I must say that I’m certainly enjoying and appreciating King more and more.

On the bright side, I believe that the entire show will be available for viewing at some point. I always found it odd that every time I went there were noticable professional camera crews filming these awards and could never find the video even for sale afterwards. I would really like to watch the 2003 show which had a very good speech by Spider Robinson. There were film crews at some of the more notable panels in L.A. as well. I clearly remember the Harlan Ellison ‘show’ being filmed and pretty sure the cameras were rolling for Bradbury. I hope these surface some day.

Once again this year, I endeavoured to read the Hugo nominees for best novel. I was mostly successful, although I skipped one book because it was book 5 of a series and another book I couldn’t finish. Here are my capsule reviews:

EMBASSYTOWN by China Mieville
China Mieville novels are not easy reading, but they are stories that will stay with you for a long time and Embassytown is one of those.

On one of mankind’s most distant worlds sits a group of ambassadors who are our race’s only means of communication with an alien species which is one of the most alien ever imagined.

These aliens have a language which is almost beyond human comprehension. It requires two humans to speak simultaneously, with each making different sounds in order for the words to be heard and understood. Ambassadors are twinned with each other at an early age so they can perfect this speech and live together as if the two are sharing one brain and thinking simultaneously.

The story is told through the eyes of a woman who grows up in Embassytown, but leaves to be a star-faring space pilot, only to return years later with a lover who is a linguist fascinated by the language of the aliens.

As the story unfolds, it seems that the aliens are addicted to the words and concepts that they hear and learn from the humans they speak with. Things go bad when one faction begins to break away from their addiction and clashes with those who remain hooked.

It’s really a hard book to explain which is probably why you’d have to read it for yourself to grasp its complexities.

It’s clearly not a book for someone seeking escapist entertainment, but if you’re looking to have your mind expanded and give your brain a workout, Embassytown is worth a read

LEVIATHAN WAKES by James Corey
The best way to describe this book is that it is a film noir space opera.

With the backdrop of a war that spans the solar system, a weary, street-savvy detective from one of the asteroid colonies attempts to get to the root of the cause of the conflict and maybe save the Earth in the process.

It is a time when Mars, the asteroids and moons of our solar system’s outer planets are colonized and there is as a thriving trade between them all, accompanied by the rivalries that come along with that as each vies for advantage over their economic competitors.

Our hero works security on an asteroid colony and gets word that an heiress has gone missing and may be involved with a revolutionary group of nogoodniks. He sets out to find her and ship her back to Earth.

During the investigation, he discovers a body that has been transformed beyond recognition by some sort of pathogen that may be powerful enough to destroy humanity if allowed to spread across the colonies.

In a separate story line, a salvage crew discovers a lifeless spaceship near a tiny asteroid and board it to investigate. They find evidence that it may have been attacked by Mars’ navy. They are themselves attacked and manage to escape on a smaller, armed pinnace. They broadcast their findings to the solar system and nations start blaming each other and it quickly escalates into war.

Meanwhile, back to our detective friend. He does some digging and finds a link with our disappeared heiress to the pinnace that was used by the crew in our other story line to escape. He tracks them down to whatever space rock they are hiding at and the two groups link up.

What is the link between the war, the disappeared heiress and the deadly pathogen? That is the mystery that they set out to solve and that keeps the reader glued to their book as they watch them have one obstacle after another thrown in their path.

I found Leviathan Wakes immensely satisfying as a good, old-fashioned science fiction novel. In some ways, the style and content reminded me of a book like Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon, but that’s a good thing since that was an excellent novel.

AMONG OTHERS by Jo WaltonThis year’s Nebula Winner by Montreal-resident Jo Walton was a surprise because it was a lot better than I expected.

It’s the first book of hers that I have read and found it hard to put down.

It is a fantasy story set in Wales, Walton’s homeland, about a teenage girl who sees fairies. She is sent off to England to study at a boarding school. Because she’s Welsh, has a handicap from a car accident that hinders her walking and is a big reader of science fiction, I couldn’t help but wonder how autobiographical a story it is consdiring Walton is Welsh, walks with the help of a cane and is a frequent and excellent critic of science fiction.

The book is written in a first-person, diary form and is set in 1979-1980. It recounts how our diarist is sent away after her sister dies in the car accident which leaves the writer with her disability.

The two of them would frequently see and interact with fairy-like creatures that lived in the Welsh countryside, mostly found near the abandoned structures of mines.

After the accident, the girl is sent off to a boarding school. Her tuition is paid for the aunts of her father, who she has never met since her parents split up a long time ago and now takes a more active role in her life. They bond because both are science fiction fans.

One of the amusing parts of the story is the ongoing book reviews that the girl jots down in her diary of the different science fiction titles she reads over the months she’s at school. If you isolated just that part of the book, you’d be left with Jo Walton’s canonical list of science fiction!

Because it is written as a diary, the story is very episodic and it may not appear to have a clear plot. As you read it, the story mostly deals with the day-to-day life of a schoolgirl with the usual concerns about friends, rivals and boys.

The only difference is there are sporadic references to the fairies and magic being used by her mother against her.

Considering that her sister has died, you start to wonder if these fairies are real or some sort of illusion created by her sick mind. For me, that ended up being the plot. Is this girl crazy or does she really see fairies? Finding the answer to that question was enough to keep me reading.

DEADLINE by Mira Grant
I y learned that this was book 2 of a trilogy, so set off to read the first book, Feed, which was nominated for a Hugo last year.

Sadly, I could not finish it. It’s yet another zombie apocalypse book which I found too self-conscious to be interesting. I got about a third of the way through and said “who cares?”

I’m sure it is beloved by many, but it was not my cup of tea and it’s extremley rare that I bail on a For the most part, I will slog through a book, no matter how dull or poorly written.

A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin
Having not read the previous 4 Game of Thrones books, I wasn’t going to plow through those just to read this book. I am sure it is a worthy title for nomination, but fear that it’s only here because of the success of the Game of Thrones mini-series. My bigger fear is that the name recognition is enough to propel this book to victory.

I’m a bit surprised that Jo Walton’s Among Others won the Hugo, but am pleased. I really liked the book. It wasn’t my first choice, but if I was voting, it would have been second on my ballot. I liked Leviathan Wakes best. I suppose the fact that it won’t the Nebula might have pushed it over the top.

I was just perusing the list of Hugo nominations. I am going to go out on a limb and predict, without reading any of the nominated novels, that China Mieville will with for Embassytown.

Okay, I confess that I have read some of Embassytown as I picked it up in anticipation of it being nominated. I think that there is enough being said and written about the book that it will be an easy winner.

Seeing that the Hugos are more of a popularity contest these days, I think the closest competitor for Mieville will be George R.R. Martin’s A Dance With Dragons, not because it’s a great book, which it very well may be, but because Martin’s Game of Thrones has been such a success in its HBO television adaptation. That name recognition factor will go a long way to helping it win votes.

Don’t get me started about how something with dragons in the title is being nominated for a science fiction award. You don’t see stories about rockets and robots when the World Fantasy Awards are handed out.

Probably the strangest nomination is for something called “The Drink Tank’s Hugo Acceptance Speech” by Christopher J Garcia and James Bacon from Renovation. How meta is that? If it wins, could the acceptance speech for that award be nominated for a Hugo next year?

The Hugo Awards are not exclusively for science fiction. It says so right in their official definition in the WSFS Constitution, section 3.2.1: Unless otherwise specified, Hugo Awards are given for work in the field of science fiction or fantasy appearing for the first time during the previous calendar year.

The World Fantasy Awards are presented by a small jury with strong administrative powers to arbitrarily define what they consider “fantasy” and “not-fantasy.” The Hugo Award administrators are strongly discouraged from applying any form of value judgements on the works, and to leave the decision as to whether a work is SF, Fantasy, or related to the field in some way up to the voters. Think of it as having a “jury” of over 1,100 members.

Thanks for the clarification. I never looked that closely at the definitions for the awards. In my mind, they’ve always been awards for science fiction, but clearly they are not. There certainly have been other fantasy books that have been nominated and won over the years and a few borderline cases that had me scratching my head over their inclusion.